A CONTROVERSIAL proposal to change the use of a house into a children’s care home in a village near Abergavenny has been rejected by members of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park Authority’s (BBNPA) Planning Committee.

But the proposal by Cwtch Children’s Care Limited for a certificate of lawfulness application to change the use of 15 The Shires, Gilwern, from a Class Three dwelling house to a Class Two residential institution will return to a future BBNPA Planning Committee for the decision to be confirmed.

The crux of the proposal is whether a full planning application is needed for the building’s change of use to allow two youngsters to be cared for at the house.

At a BBNPA Planning Committee meeting on Tuesday, July 14, planning officer Max Webb recommended that councillors and Welsh Government-appointed members approve the application.

BBNPA legal advisor Charles Felgate of Geldards law firm said: “The key is whether the activities by this use remain comparable to those of any ordinary dwellings; the opinion puts it as sufficiently comparable.”

Cllr Simon Howarth (Monmouthshire), who had called the application in before the committee, said that he felt “really pressurised” on the matter by the BBNPA planning officers.

Cllr Howarth said: “I do feel it was so important and in the public interest to bring it to the planning committee.”

Committee chairman and Welsh Government appointee Steve Rayner said: “I don’t believe anyone has been trying to pressurise you; they are just doing their job.”

Several objectors spoke at the meeting against the proposal.

Christine Price said: “You cannot treat an institution with rotating staff as indistinguishable from a single household.

“They present the operation as C2 and describe the shift pattern, staffing, care and supervision but then insist it behaves like a C3 to bypass the proper planning process.

“This inconsistency undermines the validity of the application.”

Chris Jones pointed out that there would be a high number of traffic movements due to staffing the care home.

Mr Jones asked for the application to be rejected so a full planning application could be made.

Mr Jones said that this would allow: “The highway impact to be correctly assessed by the highways agency.”

Planning consultant on behalf of the applicant Rhys Jones said: “The sole question is whether the proposed use would be lawful as a matter of planning law, not whether the proposal is desirable, acceptable or in accordance with policy.”

He pointed out that a certificate of lawfulness for this change had been agreed in October last year but had then been quashed due to a “procedural error”.

Members of the Planning Committee had visited the building ahead of the meeting.

Cllr Handel Davies (Carmarthenshire) said: “All the rooms upstairs had keypad locks; you would not find that in a typical residential dwelling.

“There are many unanswered questions.”

Cllr Edwin Roderick (Powys) said that he believed this should be the subject of a proper planning application and put forward a motion to go against officer recommendation and reject the proposal.

Mr Rayner said: “We don’t have enough information.

“We believe there are material changes and have identified the traffic movements as a significant one, and there are questions around waste (collection) and (bedroom) locks we wish to investigate further.”

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Eventually, the committee went to a vote, with six members voting to reject the application, two to support it and two abstaining.